Proverbs 18:21 (NKJV) Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.
Words are powerful. They are loaded with the power of life and death. Are you satisfied with your relational fruit? If not, what have you been saying about your relationships? Have your confessions sounded like, “I’m single and lonely”, “I don’t have any friends”, “nobody calls me”, “this person is so irritating/boring”, or “I am so mad about so-and-so”? If so, you shouldn’t be surprised by the relational pains and dysfunctions in your life because you are eating the fruit you sowed.
3 John 1:2 (NKJV) Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.
Instead, we need to say it like we believe it. For example, we should say, “God’s desire for me is to have good friends so that my soul will prosper through fellowship”, “I can be a friend who encourages and blesses”, or “God wants my soul to prosper”.
We also need to speak words that build up, strengthen, edify, and bring joy to one another. How is the fruit in your marriage and family? What kind of words have you been saying? Have you said things like, “I don’t know why I ever married him/her”, or “my husband is so lazy/my wife is such a nag”. If so, you’ve been producing rotten fruit and killing your marriage with your words. What are you saying about your kids? If you have been saying something along the lines of, “my kids are so disrespectful”, or “they just don’t listen to me”, you are producing the fruit of rebellion and exhaustion which explains why you are never satisfied.
There is power in our words. Therefore, we need to get a grip of our lip by choosing to build up, bless, strengthen, and edify others through our words, and refuse to speak words that tear us or others down. We must not give the authority over our lives to the devil through speaking negative words. Because we will reap what we sow through our spoken words, we need to speak in line with the Word of God, and choose to frame our world with God’s help through our spoken words.
So let’s agree with the Word of God and speak from the conviction of our hearts. For example, we can say, “God has blessed me with a good spouse through our covenant marriage”, “he/she is my wonderful partner in this marriage to build up the family, and a good parent to our children”, “our marriage is blessed by the Lord and we will watch over our marriage covenant till death do us part”.
Sermon Series: Cell Group Campaign ( Session 1)
如何结出好关系的果子
箴言 18:21 生死在舌头的权下，喜爱他的，必吃他结的果子。
话语满有能力。满有生与死的能力。你对人际关系方面的果子满意吗？如果不满意，那你对你的人际关系都说了些什么？你的表白听起来是这样的吗，“我形单影只好寂寞”，“我没有朋友”，“没有人给我打电话”，“这个人很烦人/无趣”，或者“我对某 某人感到很生气”？如果是这样，你就不应该对生活中的关系痛苦及功能障碍感到惊讶。你正在吃你话语所种下的苦果。
约翰三书 1:2 亲爱的兄弟阿，我愿你凡事兴盛，身体健壮，正如你的灵魂兴盛一样。
反而，我们需要说得如我们相信的一样。比如，我们应该说，“上帝希望我拥有好朋友，这样我的灵魂就可以通过团契而兴盛”，“我可以作一个鼓励和祝福他人的 朋 友”，或者“上帝希望我的灵魂兴盛”。
我们也需要说一些能够造就、巩固、启迪并给彼此带来快乐的话语。你的婚姻和家庭中的果实又如何呢？你 说的是什么样的话？ 你是否曾这样说:“天晓得我怎么会嫁给他/娶了她”，或者“我 先生真懒/我太太真唠叨”。如果是这样，你是在结烂果子，并用这些话语毁灭你的婚姻。关于孩子们你又说了些什么话？ 如果你一直在说诸如“我的孩子们太不尊重人了”，或者“他们根本不听我的话”，你是在生产叛逆和疲惫的果子，这就解释了为何你总是不如意。
我们的话语是有能力的。因此，我们需要控制自己的舌头，选择以话语来造就、祝福、巩固和启迪他人，并且拒绝说出会拆毁自己或他人的话语。我们也不要通过说负面的话语从而将生命的权柄交给魔鬼。 因为我们将收获我们言语所播下的种子，我们说出的话语需要与圣经一致， 并选择 在上帝的帮助下通过我们的言语来构建我们的世界。
因此，让我们同意上帝的话语并以发自内心的信念说出我们的话。比如，我们可以说，“上帝通过我们的婚约赐给了我一个好伴侣“，“他/她是我在这个婚姻中美好的伴侣，是我们孩子们的好父母”，“我们的婚姻蒙主祝福，并且我们将守护我们的婚姻誓约，直到死亡将我们分开”。
讲章系列：细胞小组活动 (第一部分)
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